Unsteady (song)

"Unsteady" is a ballad^[3] by American rock band X Ambassadors. It was originally part of the band's second EP The Reason and was later released as the third single from the band's debut studio album, VHS, on October 13, 2015. The song has a remix version entitled "Unsteady (Erich Lee Gravity Remix)", a single for the motion picture soundtrack for the film Me Before You.^[4]

"Unsteady"
Single by X Ambassadors
from the album VHS
Released	October 13, 2015
Recorded	2014
Genre	Indie rock[1] alternative rock[2]
Length	3:13
Label	KidinaKorner Geffen Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Alexander Grant Sam Harris Noah Feldshuh Casey Harris Adam Levin
Producer(s)	Alex da Kid X Ambassadors
X Ambassadors singles chronology
"Cannonball" (2015) "Unsteady" (2015) "Low-Life" (2016)
Music video
"Unsteady" on YouTube

Composition

In an interview with Best New Bands frontman Sam Nelson Harris discussed the main inspiration for the song

"This song is about our parents getting divorced when we were in high school. I was a little bit uncomfortable when I decided to make the song about that… I felt like everyone’s parents get divorced. Who am I to say anything about it, it’s not a big deal? But I think precisely for that reason, I decided that was why I had to write. We have a great relationship with our parents and our stepmother. We love them so much. We wanted to really emphasize there’s a blamelessness there. These things happen. Relationships fall apart. Families fall apart. No one is to blame."

^[5]

According to the sheet music published at MusicNotes.com, the song is written in the key of B minor, with a tempo of 58 beats per minute.^[6]

Accolades

"Unsteady" was nominated for Top Rock Song at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards.^[7]

Music video

Influenced by the song’s theme of divorce, the music video follows a couple at two points in their relationship: the moment they fell in love, and the moment they knew their relationship was over. The song shows how habits that may have been "fun and spontaneous" when young can turn into serious problems when they begin to affect an adult family life where children can be influenced by those choices.

The video was directed by ENDS (Zack Sekuler and Daniel Iglesias Jr.) Archived 2023-04-19 at the Wayback Machine

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2015–2016) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[8] 94 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[9] 61 Canada AC (Billboard)[10] 25 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[11] 19 Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[12] 23 Canada Rock (Billboard)[13] 11 US Billboard Hot 100[14] 20 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[15] 12 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[16] 4 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[17] 2 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[18] 10 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[19] 6 Chart (2017-2018) Peak position Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 2 Chart (2018–19) Peak position Scotland (OCC)[21] 73 UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[22] 93 Chart (2021) Peak position Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 77

Year-end charts Chart (2016) Position US Billboard Hot 100[24] 67 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[25] 5 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[26] 38 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[27] 9 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[28] 22 Chart (2017) Position US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[29] 9 Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[30] 25

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[31]	Platinum	70,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[32]	5× Platinum	400,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[33]	Gold	45,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[34]	Gold	200,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[35]	Gold	25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[36]	Platinum	600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[37]	5× Platinum	717,000[38]
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Unsteady by X Ambassadors: Lyrics Meaning and Interpretation". Sharpens. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
2. "10 Best Bands That Start With X". Shlohmo. April 7, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
3. Kallen, Lauren (May 3, 2019). "X Ambassadors Want To Redefine What It Means To Be A Band". Grammy Awards. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
4. "Me Before You - X Ambassadors "Unsteady" (Erich Lee Gravity Remix)". Warner Bros. Pictures. YouTube.
5. Hess, Sarah (June 26, 2015). "X Ambassadors Interview: Musicals, Tourmates and "VHS"". Brand New Bands. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
6. X Ambassadors "Unsteady" Sheet Music in B Minor musicnotes.com
7. "Drake, The Chainsmokers Lead Nominees for the 2017 Billboard Music Awards". Billboard. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
8. "CHART WATCH #375". auspOp. July 2, 2016. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
9. "X Ambassadors Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
10. "X Ambassadors Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
11. "X Ambassadors Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
12. "X Ambassadors Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
13. "X Ambassadors Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
14. "X Ambassadors Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
15. "X Ambassadors Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
16. "X Ambassadors Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
17. "X Ambassadors Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
18. "X Ambassadors Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
19. "X Ambassadors Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
20. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 2, 2017". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
21. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
22. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
23. "X Ambassadors – Unsteady". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
24. "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
25. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
26. "Adult Contemporary Songs: Year End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
27. "Adult Pop Songs: Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
28. "Rock Airplay Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
29. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
30. "Decade-End Charts: Hot Rock Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
31. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2019 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
32. "Canadian single certifications – X Ambassadors – Unsteady". Music Canada.
33. "Danish single certifications – X Ambassadors – Unsteady". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
34. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (X Ambassadors; 'Unsteady')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
35. "Italian single certifications – X Ambassadors – Unsteady" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved January 22, 2018. Select "2018" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Unsteady" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
36. "British single certifications – X Ambassadors – Unsteady". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
37. "American single certifications – X Ambassadors – Unsteady". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
38. 5 Big Hits From 2016 Soundtracks